


a touch of me (with you)

by thisissirius



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Car Accidents, Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, NO BETA BECAUSE I WroTE THIS TOO QUICKLY, dont judge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:26:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23776066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisissirius/pseuds/thisissirius
Summary: Chris week part TWO; hurt Chris with a happy ending👌🏻Buck stares out of the window, watches the scene come into view. Eddie’s truck is obvious, the front side a buckled, mangled mess. Buck gets a glimpse of Eddie — blood on his forehead, windscreen shattered. He’s been to enough emergencies to know what happened, especially when he sees where the other car is. Eddie’s been t-boned, and the skidmarks on the floor tell their own story; Eddie swerved the truck, letting the car hit his door instead of Christopher.Christopher, who’s sitting in the backseat, staring out of the window, crying.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 49
Kudos: 737





	a touch of me (with you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elisela](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elisela/gifts).



> i wrote this fic in about two hours don't kill me
> 
> because eli asked for "Alright well I’ve had enough of this lets hurt buck fest you all have going on over here. So. Eddie. Tired after a 24 hour shift, gets run off the road with Chris in the car. HURT CHRIS PERMANENTLY AND ILL KILL YOU k BUT. Buck’s one of the responders."
> 
> honestly, when it's chris week, how could i refuse? AS IF I WOULD KILL CHRIS

“Maddie?”

Maddie’s between calls, taking a quick breath when someone touches her shoulder. Lauren, one of her newer co-workers looks upset and Maddie frowns. Immediately her mind goes to Chimney, then Buck. “Is everything okay?”

“Josh has a call he thinks you should take.”

On her feet before she’s thought about it, Maddie moves to Josh’s desk, confused. After the drama with Dispatch being taken hostage, things between the team have been tight and good. Maddie’s been trying to help Josh as much as possible, and as she comes up behind him, he looks devastated for reasons she can’t explain. 

“Okay, give me one second, Christopher, okay?”

Maddie’s stomach swoops dangerously and she presses a hand to her mouth. “Eddie’s Christopher?”

Josh puts Chris on hold and nods, looking upset. “Car accident on Colima. Doesn’t know what happened, but Eddie’s unconscious. Chris used Bluetooth to call. Says his arm hurts and that Eddie’s not responding.”

“Why do you want me to take over?”

Josh shakes his head. “He asked for you. I want him to be comfortable.”

Maddie immediately takes over, sliding into the seat Josh vacates. She takes a breath before taking Chris off hold. “Chris?”

“Auntie Maddie,” Chris manages. Josh is right about how upset Chris sounds. “My arm hurts.”

“I know, sweetheart,” Maddie says gently. “I promise help is coming.”

Chris mumbles something. Then, louder, “Bucky?”

Maddie’s heart breaks. “I’ll make sure Buck’s there, Chris. Can you tell me what you see?”

“Daddy’s hair is wet,” Chris manages. Maddie breathes out slowly. Probably blood. Maybe rain. It’s been doing so on and off all day. “The window next to him looks broken.”

“Thank you, Chris.” Maddie tries to keep repeating his name, as much to calm him as to keep him with her. “Where were you going?”

Chris sobs and Maddie grips the edge of the desk. It feels different when it’s someone you know; when it’s your brother’s — best friend’s son? They’re practically family. She almost thinks of Chris as Buck’s in the privacy of her own mind. It feels right, but she can’t press that on Buck. “Buck’s birthday is tomorrow.”

Shit. Maddie swallows around the sudden lump in her throat. 

“I asked Dad if he would help me get Buck a present. Dad was turning and then someone hit the car. Is he going to be okay?”

“Buck’s coming,” Maddie says, checking the data. 118 responding. Buck’s definitely working — he’s been talking nonstop how betrayed he’s been about Eddie having a day off without him — though Maddie’s not sure how he’ll react to knowing it’s Eddie, to knowing it’s Christopher. “Maybe we can get him on the radio, would that help?”

Chris sobs again. “I want Bucky.”

“Alright,” Maddie promises, and tries to get through to the truck. She waves at Josh. “Can you get Buck on the phone?”

The truck doesn’t answer, the call already busy, but then Josh is nodding and Maddie reaches for the phone. 

“Maddie, I’m on a call.”

Maddie waits, gives herself a moment to keep her voice even. “I know, Buck, you need to listen to me, okay?”

Buck sucks in an audible breath. “Maddie?”

“It’s Eddie.” 

“The call?” Buck’s voice wobbles. “He’s in the car accident?”

“Yes.” Maddie isn’t about to sugar coat it. She needs him to understand. “There’s—”

“ _Christopher_ ,” Buck says before she can get the words out. He sounds wrecked. “Maddie, they were out today is he—”

“He’s on the phone,” Maddie says and she can feel her cheeks wet with tears. It’s not fair, she thinks. Her brother tries so hard and now this on top of everything else. “He wants you.”

“ _Fuck_.” The word comes through, hard and tense. 

There are voices in the background of Buck’s call, the rest of the team, but Maddie tunes them out. Christopher’s in her other ear, sobbing for Buck, and Maddie pulls herself together. 

“I need you to talk to Christopher.”

They put Buck on speaker. For all the complex set up of Dispatch, they can set up a line if they need to, but it seems easier. 

“Chris? I’ve got Buck here okay?”

“Buck?” Chris sounds upset, lost, and hopeful. “Are you coming?”

“You bet I am.” Maddie closes her eyes, presses the palms of her hands to her eyes. Buck’s trying; his voice is even, but she can hear the tremble in it, the fear he’s trying to hide. “Bobby’s getting us there super fast, alright?”

“Dad’s head is bleeding. Is he going to be okay?”

“You focus on me,” Buck says immediately. “You know your dad’s strong. Hen and Chim are gonna help as soon as we get there. How are you doing?”

There’s the sound of rustling and Christopher whimpers. Maddie can picture her brother, the look on his face, the barely contained rage. “My arm hurts. It looks funny.”

Buck pauses, then mutters, “Broken arm,” presumably to whoever’s in the truck with him. “We’re on the same street as you, Christopher, we’ll be there real soon.”

“Will you stay on the phone with me?”

“I’m not hanging up until I can see you, Chris, I promise.”

“Buck—” 

“I’m going for Christopher,” Buck says, not looking at Bobby. He’s holding tightly to his phone, listening to Christopher crying. He wants to punch something, wants to rage. 

“I wasn’t going to stop you,” Bobby says gently.

Buck winces. “Sorry, I just—”

“I know.” Bobby nods and Buck answers with one of his own. Of course Bobby knows. Buck stares out of the window, watches the scene come into view. Eddie’s truck is obvious, the front side a buckled, mangled mess. Buck gets a glimpse of Eddie — blood on his forehead, windscreen shattered. He’s been to enough emergencies to know what happened, especially when he sees where the other car is. Eddie’s been t-boned, and the skidmarks on the floor tell their own story; Eddie swerved the truck, letting the car hit his door instead of Christopher. 

Christopher, who’s sitting in the backseat, staring out of the window, crying. 

The rage Buck’s been keeping at bay flares up, eyes darting from Chris, to the figure staggering from their car. Buck wants to _destroy_ them. They made Chris cry and Buck’s never hated someone so viscerally. 

“Buck? How’s it looking?”

“Give me a minute.” He hopes she understands what he’s asking. 

“You’re off speaker,” she whispers. 

“I wanna call him, Maddie,” Buck snaps. “He’s just walking around and—”

Maddie makes an assenting noise. “You can be angry, but you don’t touch him, you hear me?”

“I wasn’t going to,” Buck says, offended. “I have to hang up. We’re there.”

Maddie doesn’t protest and Buck jams his phone into one of his pockets. Before the truck’s come to a complete stop, Buck’s jumping down to the tarmac. There’s a gathering of cops and another truck already. Athena’s yelling, her voice rising above everything else, and he can see her approaching the driver of the car. Buck swallows his anger, eyes on Chris, and he jogs the rest of the distance, his heart pounding. 

“Bucky,” Christopher yells, as he approaches. “I was waiting for you.”

“I know, buddy,” Buck gets out. He can see Hen and Chim racing over from the ambulance and knows they have Eddie. Buck isn’t thinking about it; he shoves it down, trusts his team to have everything else; Christopher’s his priority. Buck wrenches the door, unsurprised to find it locked because Eddie’s not stupid. With enough strength, Buck pulls it off its hinge, immediately ducking into the car. 

Chris is buckled in, still crying, left arm trying to reach for Buck. 

“Keep still, superman, okay? I’m gonna get you out, but I need you to be careful of your arm.”

“Is Dad going to be okay?”

Buck frowns, touches Chris’ face. “You listen to me, okay? Your dad’s got Hen and Chim — see?”

Chris follows Buck’s gaze and sees Chim clambering through the door just in front of Buck. Hen’s on the other side, both of them already focused on their work. Chris nods, turning wet, scared eyes on Buck. “I’m scared.”

“I know, baby,” Buck says, the endearment slipping out, and he gets Christopher unbuckled. “Lean on me, and I’ll get you out of here, okay?”

It’s not easy, especially with the wrecked front end and Chim working around him, but Buck gets Chris out. Chris whimpers, and Buck’s careful of the obviously broken arm. He cradles it close, and Chris throws his good arm around Buck’s neck, sobbing into Buck’s neck. 

“I’ve got you, Chris.” Buck presses a kiss to Chris’ forehead. “I’ve got you, baby, I’ve got you.”

Chris doesn’t stop crying as Buck carries him to the closest ambulance. Buck refuses to let him go, even when the EMTs are working. Bobby’s watching him, directing the first responder traffic with Athena at his side and Buck gets a quick nod. It takes him a moment to get his shit together, then nods in return. 

“Hey,” Buck says, brushing his thumb over Chris’ cheeks, drying his tears. “You’re gonna go for a ride to the hospital, okay?”

Chris yells, “no!,” clutching at Buck again, whimpering when it jars his arm. “I want you.”

Buck curses his own stupid turn of phrase. “I’m coming too. I’m not leaving you, Chris, I promise. We’re going together.”

Pulling back, Chris stares at him. Buck’s heart breaks at the look on his face, the wet tear tracks, the scrape on his forehead. “Promise?”

“Baby,” Buck says, “I’m not leaving you. Ever.”

At the hospital, there’s a moment when someone tries to take Chris out of his arms. Buck refuses to relinquish his hold and informs them in no uncertain terms that they can take Chris over his dead body. 

Chris wails whenever they try, screaming for Buck, and though Buck suspects most of it is fear, he can also see the look on Chris’ face that so mirrors his father when he’s stubborn and doesn’t want things to change. Eventually, the nurses give in purely out of frustration — or exhaustion, Buck doesn’t care — and they patch Chris up with a cool looking cast. He sits on Buck’s knee, head tucked under Buck’s chin the entire time. Buck can’t let him go. He’s got his phone in his spare hand, the other holding Christopher tightly to him. 

“How’s he doing?”

Buck closes his eyes. “Just waiting for them to finish up with the cast. Thanks, Maddie.”

“You’re welcome,” Maddie says. “I’m just getting off shift so I’ll meet you there, okay?”

“You don’t have to,” Buck starts, knowing as he does that Maddie’s just going to talk over him. 

Maddie snorts, proving his point. “I’m coming.” A pause and Buck expects the question before it comes. “Do you know anything?”

“No,” Buck says shortly. He kisses the top of Chris’ head, knows Chris is gonna ask once he’s done with his own broken arm. “They haven’t come through yet.”

“Is that Auntie Maddie?”

“It is.” Buck smiles, brushing Chris’ hair back from his forehead. When Christopher makes a motion for the phone, Buck hands it over. 

Maddie says something too low for Buck to hear. Chris nods, smiling sadly, and curls into Buck. He holds tight, lets Chris’ conversation with Maddie fill the horrible silence that’s been with him since Maddie’s first call. 

The nurse comes back, and Chris sighs into the phone. “I have to. I will. Thank you, Auntie Maddie.”

“You’re welcome,” Buck hears and then the dial tone. 

Watching like a hawk, Buck waits only as long as it takes for the nurse to proclaim them done and asks after Eddie. 

“I’ll find out for you,” the nurse says with a kind smile. 

“Thank you, Bucky,” Christopher says quietly. 

Buck looks at him, raising his eyebrows. “Why are you thanking me?”

“I was scared,” Christopher explains. “Then you came and I wasn’t anymore.”

Buck closes his eyes, keeps kissing the top of Chris’ head like it can soothe the racing emotions in his chest. He’s terrified; can still feel it thrumming under his skin. He’s no stranger to the feeling; he remembers the tsunami all too well, not something he can easily forget. “I’m glad, buddy.”

“I love you, Bucky.”

“I love you too,” Buck says easily, because it is. There’s nothing hard or difficult about the feelings he’s got for Chris. They make the most sense of anything in his life. 

Chris finally pulls back, but he keeps his good hand clenched around Buck’s shirt. He’s shed his turnout gear, left in his work pants and shirt. “Can we go and find Dad?”

“Yeah, baby,” Buck says, distracted as he picks Chris back up. He immediately thinks maybe Chris doesn’t want that, then breathes out a sigh as Chris clings against him, head on Buck’s shoulder. He’s gonna get too big for it soon, but Buck’s gonna get away with it for as long as he can. “We can.”

Eddie’s sleeping. 

Chris is sleeping.

The former is in his bed, bruised, broken, and dark smudges under his eyes, but alive. 

The latter is curled up against Buck, green cast resting across his stomach, hair tickling Buck’s nose. 

Buck closes his eyes, tries not to move too much, and attempts to get as much sleep as possible. 

“Would you sit down?” Buck snaps.

Eddie snorts, lips quirking into a smile. “It was just a flesh wound.”

“That wasn’t funny the first time,” Buck informs him, “and it’s definitely not now. You were almost eviscerated.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Eddie says with a roll of his eyes. “I’m alive.”

Buck leans against the doorjamb. “Barely.”

Eddie gingerly sits himself down on the couch, groaning in relief as he sits back against the cushions. Christopher’s out with Carla, the first time he’s done so since the accident. Buck’s gonna pretend Eddie’s the one desperate to keep Chris with him and not the truth — that he’s been afraid to let Chris out of his sight. When Buck forces himself back into the moment, he can see Eddie watching him. 

“What?”

“Come here,” Eddie says, patting the couch next to him. 

“Needy,” Buck mutters, but he feels something flutter in his chest and moves between Eddie’s legs and the coffee table. There’s a lumpy shape under Eddie’s henley and Buck pretends he doesn’t know the cause of it. 

When he’s settled on the couch, Eddie shifts closer, and Buck rolls his eyes, lifts an arm. When Eddie’s settled against him, letting out a moan of satisfaction, Buck lets himself relax. Eddie’s hair is as soft as Christopher’s, especially now with no product, and Buck contents himself with running his fingers through it, teasing at the strands. 

“I spoke with Bobby,” Eddie says, slurring his words slightly. He sounds tired and Buck can’t resist, kisses the top of Eddie’s head. Again, it’s the same feeling he gets with Chris; _complete_. “Said you were good with Chris.”

Buck shrugs the shoulder not currently playing pillow. “I wanted to make sure Chris was okay.”

Eddie huffs out a breath and pulls back, twisting so that he can look Buck in the eye. “Maddie called.”

“Great,” Buck says, dropping his head back against the couch. When he risks a look at Eddie, he doesn’t know what to make of the look on his face. “What?”

“I have something for you,” Eddie says. He grunts in pain as he shifts away from Buck, and Buck pretends he doesn’t miss the feel of it. There’s a brown envelope between the cushions of the couch and Buck snorts. Eddie looks offended. “What? I didn’t want you to find it.”

“Or Christopher,” Buck laughs.

“Actually,” Eddie says, with a flush. “Christopher knows.”

Buck’s torn between surprise, apprehension, and fear. Eddie holds out the envelope and Buck takes it with shaking hands. There’s an expression on Eddie’s face that Buck can’t decipher. When he pulls the papers from the envelope, Buck sees the words on the top. His chest aches, his words get stuck in his throat and he snaps his gaze up to Eddie. 

“I don’t—”

“I know what you did,” Eddie says slowly, and he reaches for Buck’s hand. Buck lets him take it, isn’t sure he’s actually breathing. “Hey, stay with me.”

“M’here,” Buck says, blinking furiously. He looks at the papers, then back to Eddie. “I just wanted him to be safe.”

Eddie nods. “I know. You love him, Buck, and I see it.”

Buck wants to cry, and can feel his eyes burning. “Eddie.”

 _Adoption papers_.

Adoption. 

“We’re not even,” Buck starts. He stops, takes a moment. “Chris knows?”

Eddie nods. He looks soft, smiling like this is a good thing. Buck’s too emotional to know what to do with that. “I told him. If I’d — if anything happens to me, I trust you above anybody else to love my son for me.”

“Always,” Buck whispers because it’s never a question. He thinks he’s crying, feels wetness on his cheeks. 

“You’ll sign them?” Eddie asks, like Buck’s ever been able to say no to Eddie, and especially not when Christopher’s part of the question. 

Buck lets out a shaky laugh. “Yeah, Eddie, I’ll sign them.”

Eddie looks relieved, happy, and something else that scares Buck a little bit, but he accepts the hug Buck gives him. Gently, mindful of the injuries, but Eddie’s grip is tight as he grips Buck. “Thank you.”

“Shut up,” Buck manages, burying his face in Eddie’s neck. “Fuck, Eddie.”

“I know,” Eddie laughs again. 

They only pull apart when the door opens and Chris and Carla return, the latter raising her eyebrows. 

“Well,” she says.

“You told him?” Chris says, eyes wide. 

“I did, _mijo_ ,” Eddie says with a grin. 

“Did you say yes?” Chris demands of Buck. 

Buck nods, because faced with this child, his _son_ , he can’t find the words. 

“Yes,” Chris cheers and stumbles towards Buck. 

Buck catches him, will always catch him, and holds him close. “Love you, Chris.”

“Love you, Bucky,” Chris says. 

Eddie’s watching them; Buck meets his eyes over Chris’ shoulder, and something settles in Buck, something he doesn’t know what to call, but knows he never wants to let go of. 

“Buck?”

“Yeah?” Buck says, pulling back and looking Chris in the eye.

Chris grins, wide and free. “Did you have a good birthday?”

Buck spent his birthday in a hospital, watching over his best friend. His best friend’s son — _his_ son — entertaining the both of them. It’s not the ideal celebration, but Buck doesn’t care. He’s got Eddie, he’s got Chris, and he’s got this happiness he can’t shake. “Yeah, buddy, I did.”

**Author's Note:**

> YES I'VE POSTED THREE FICS IN TWO DAYS. 
> 
> NO, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING.


End file.
